


Life in HQ

by apurplehex



Series: By Griffin's Grace [1]
Category: None - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 14:16:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18390083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apurplehex/pseuds/apurplehex
Summary: Dev





	1. I'm Not a Bad Guy

**Author's Note:**

> Dev

Imagine being Superman. The Hulk. Spider-man. Even Aquaman. My name’s Devon Desmond, but my friends call me Dev. I’m not a bad person. Let me start at the beginning.

As I said above, my name’s Dev. I can do funky things with anything with a circuit board, really. My buddy Kyle can shoot fire out of his hands, and well, many other places as well as bench 500 times his weight. My other friend, Ruby, can move spoons with her mind. I think.

Kyle, Ruby and I own a company called “Griffin’s Grace” because “Desmond, Griffin, and Grace” made us sound like the lamest law firm ever. And we were not lame. It’s really less of a company, per se, than a group of six teenagers that live in a house, in a different dimension. We begin our story there, in HQ.

It was a Thursday, I believe. Yes, that’s right. Thursday was the doomsday of that year (thanks Conway!). I had just gotten out of school. I walked into HQ and saw two treadmills in use. Ruby and Dean Wise, the only member of ours without special abilities (unless you count breaking a gross amount kitchen appliances a special ability) were jogging at the same even pace. Dean was flirting relentlessly with Ruby, not even out of breath. Ruby had earphones in.

“Hey guys,” I said, walking to the kitchen. Ruby looked up and waved. She decided this was a great time to end her session. As soon as she stepped off the treadmill, it vanished. This was not unusual, as the reason we have the big empty space is for exercise and basketball games.

“Hey Nerdface… you’re smoking again,” Ruby said, grabbing her water bottle.

I looked down, and noticed that my left shoulder had sparks coming off of it. Gray wisps that resembled numbers floated off, as if evaporating from the electricity. I brushed it off.

“Err… thanks. Has Tornado checked in by any chance?” ‘Tornado’ was the creative name we gave our friend Max Spinne. Get it? No? Nevermind, then.

“Now that I think about it, no. I saw a cloud of smoke I assumed was Kyle. Ashley entered shortly after.”

Dean, who had been jogging this whole time, stepped off his treadmill as well.

“Does someone miss his boyfriend?” Dean said, like an idiot.

“I’d smack you if you weren’t so goddamn gorgeous.”

That shut him up.

Ruby chimed in, “Dean you’ve been here three weeks. You should be able to understand that Max isn’t his boyfriend by now”

She was right.

Dean shrugged and picked up the bag of rat treats. One of the main reasons I still let him hang out around here was the rats. Before he arrived, only Max and I wanted the rats to stay. Ruby hated them. Ashley and Kyle were indifferent, but they feared they would have to clean their cages. Then Dean came and settled the vote. Not only would he clean the cages, but he’d help around the house as well. The rats stayed.

We had three male rats and one female. Our only female, lovingly named Squeak, was housed with one of our male rats, Remy. The other two, Gold and Silver (real names: Aurum and Argentum (don’t judge)) had a cage just below them.

As Dean walked over to their cages, I took in the scene before me. I was standing in the kitchen, which was in the corner. To the right of the kitchen was the dining table with six chairs. The door to the storage room was behind the table, where we kept the treadmills and other miscellaneous equipment. To the left of the kitchen was a wall with seven doors that led to the private chambers. My door was the closest to the kitchen, then went Kyle, Dean, Ruby, Max, then Ashley. The seventh door led to the outside. Of to the right of the 7th was 3 couches and the TV. To the right of the couches was the guy’s bathroom and rat cages. To the right of that on the next wall was the laundry room door and party room door. The rest was empty space, which changed as needed.

It wasn’t the most glamorous place in the world, but it was my favorite. Whenever I got stressed or embarrassed on the other side, or just wanted to go, a door would appear and I’d step into HQ. My allies were also able to come and go as they pleased, thanks to the bracelets. The bracelets, the brainchild of mine and Ruby, allowed us to share our abilities and communicate with anyone else wearing them. Only 5 existed. Dean didn’t need one, he never left. If he needed to talk to anyone, well that’s what the mic in his room was for.

The bracelets allowed to them to open a door into HQ, and were, honestly, the reason that Kyle had an A in math. The bracelets weren’t just give on my end, though. If I asked nicely beforehand, I was able to breathe fire, turn into a gecko, win bets with card tricks, or even help my mother with her hydrangeas.

I opened the secret cabinet only Ruby and I knew about, grabbed a bag of Doritos and headed to my room.

My room wasn’t that big. It didn’t even have a bathroom, a feature only given to the girls and Max. It had a queen-sized bed, a TV, a bookshelf stocked full of books about countless topics, a dresser and a desk. On my desk, a math textbook (so that’s where I left it!), a computer, and a coffee maker (I told you about Dean, right?). I opened my laptop. A note from Max lay, folded.

IOU $20

Food.

<3 - Max

I sighed. I crumpled the note and tossed it in the garbage can next to my bed. I opened up my email. A single message from my brother, asking if he could host a party in HQ’s secret room on Friday. I responded “Sure why not?” I closed my laptop, stripped to my boxers, jumped on my bed and turned on the TV.

A couple hours later, I heard a knock at the door. Max walked in. They were 5’11” (which I enjoyed teasing them about, because they weren’t technically 6 foot), had blonde hair and dazzling rainbow kaleidoscope eyes (no, not the Panic! at the Disco song). Max was genderfluid. They mostly identified as non-binary but they often identified as male as well. Max had the ability to shape their form as they please, which seems like a gift from God himself. They also had empathetic powers. They could tell how someone was feeling, sometimes even thinking, just by touching or even looking at them. An excellent quality in a datemate.

Max smiled at me, weakly. I didn’t need to be an empath to tell something was wrong.

I stood up. Max shut the door. They burst into tears.

I wrapped my arms around them.

“Hey. Hey. Max. What’s wrong?

“Can we just... go to bed?” they said, slowly. I glanced at the clock on my dresser. It read “6:32 PM”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure buddy.” I rubbed my hand on their back. “Here. Let me.” I took off their sweater, then their socks and shoes, helped them out of their pants, then shirt. I got under the covers. Max followed. I wrapped my arms around him (I could tell it changed) and his crying gradually stopped.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I would if I knew, Dev.”

Our powers aren’t just blessings. I can’t be around magnets. Kyle randomly combusts. Ashley sometimes leaves flowers in her wake as she’s walking. 

Max, on the other hand, has a bigger burden. Sometimes, without even knowing, he feeds off the anxieties and doubts of other people around him. This is why he had to drop out of Forensics and Drama. He takes on the burdens of other people involuntarily, which would drain anyone.

I tried to make conversation.

“My brother is hosting a party in HQ tomorrow”

Silence. I pulled in Max closer. He smelled like licorice and lemonade. Soon, I too was asleep.


	2. Anniversary Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyle  
> (This might get confusing, thats what makes it fun!)

2:14. 2:15. 2:16. It was 7th period. Math. Today was the day. April 4th. Me and Ruby’s anniversary. We’ve been a couple 3 of the 4 years of high school.

Ruby constantly joked all march that I wouldnt remember. But I did! I had a plan. I’d give her a rose, then we’d go for a picnic in the park. The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea where to get roses. Flowers were usually Ashley’s department, while mine was burning things. We don’t get along, often.

2:21. God! Why did time move so slowly? 

“Kyle,” said a voice.

God?

“Kyle.” said the voice again. I blinked. Tristan, a buddy on the football team was talking.

“Yeah?” I said, slowly.

“Leg. Table. Shaking. Stop.”

I looked down. My leg was indeed shaking, hard. It was moving the table along with it. My knee was also starting to smoke. I made a conscious decision to stop.

Ashley, who was sitting on my left, turned to me and gave me a smile. I had something to ask her, I believe.

“We’re on number seven,” Tristan said.

I looked down at number seven. Statistics. I read the problem. I understood exactly 0%.

“Roses.” I said, suddenly remembering. 

“What?” Tristan asked.

“Not you. Ashley. Would you know where to find roses?”

Ashley looked at me and tilted her head. In all the time I’ve ever known her, she has not spoken a word.  _ Of course I know where to find roses. _ A female voice played in my head, robotic. The silver band on my wrist grew warm.

“You, wouldn’t, by any chance, have one on you...would you?”

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a red rose. It was beautiful.

“Thanks.” I tucked it into my backpack, safely.

Tristan cleared his throat, “number seven.”

I turned to Ashley. She lifted her chin, as if to say  _ Go ahead _ . I touched the silver band, under the desk, silently asking Dev for help. I turned to the page again. “Oh, this is easy.”

Literally 30 seconds after we started, the bell rang. I checked my backpack again, making sure it was safe. I shuffled out of the classroom. I walked out into the grass then to a tree, so I wouldn’t be in the way of anyone walking. I called on one of Dev’s cooler abilities. A door appeared. Oak, painted red. I walked in.

Immediately, I smelled a burning smell. I looked down. Damn it! This happened sometimes when I walked in, I’d randomly catch fire. I pulled off my backpack and raced to my room, fifth down from the door I just walked from. My door was painted blue, and was the only one with a smoke detector above it. As I approached I heard a single beep from it, then it opened. As soon as I stepped through the door the fire stopped, as if I had jumped in a pool.

I looked down. Other than my shoes I was completely naked. My blue t-shirt and jeans had been reduced to ashes. I dusted myself off then sat on my bed. I turned on the TV. Next to the TV stand was a mini-fridge, with a microwave on top. I reached into the fridge and retrieved a Dr Pepper. I opened it and took a sip.

The door, that was previously still opened, closed suddenly. I glanced up and saw Ruby. With a swift motion, I retrieved the rose. “Happy anniversary,” i said, presenting her the rose.

Ruby tilted her head, in confusion. She glanced at the calendar above my desk. She turned back to me, wide-eyed.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” I asked, trying not to sound too pleased with myself.

She huffed. She grabbed the soda in my hand, and took a sip. She set it on the desk, too close to the edge, i noted. She gave me a smirk. “Well, we’ll just have to reward you, won’t we?”

I returned the smirk.

* * *

 

20, 30 something minutes later, we were in bed, naked, cuddling. My phone, on the desk, buzzed. I heard the unmistakable sound of a soda can falling onto carpet.

“Oops” Ruby said in a voice that did not sound sorry even in the slightest.

I rolled my eyes and got up. A text from Jack, Dev’s brother.  _ Party at the place. Dev said it’s ok. Bring the Dragon. _

“Who’s that” Ruby asked, still sounding like she could care less.

“Jack. He’s having a party at HQ and wants me to bring the Dragon”

“What a dick.”

The ‘Dragon’ is what everyone who knows me calls my other, drunken personality. I take one sip, and then all of a sudden there is a voice that influences my every move. I’ve found that as someone who can light on fire and lift very heavy objects with ease, this makes me very dangerous.

“Come back to bed.”

“Yeah, ok.” I tried to focus on what was on the TV, but I kept worrying about what may happen tomorrow.


End file.
